About OU Medicine

At OU Medicine, our mission is leading health care. Our vision is to be the premier enterprise for advancing health care, medical education and research for the community, state and region. Through our combined efforts we strive to improve the lives of all people.

Children's Services

Education & Research

The College of Medicine is the largest component of the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center and is at the center of OU Medicine. Our mission is leading health care - in education, research and patient care.

Meet Our Team

The staff at the PCIT Training Center are among the best in their field, with advanced degrees and years of experience. They are leaders in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy and serve on related national and international boards and committees. Each staff member has extensive experience in delivering high quality therapeutic services to children, adolescents and families impacted by behavioral and emotional difficulties.

Beverly W. Funderburk is an Associate Professor of Research at the Center on Child Abuse and Neglect in the University of the Oklahoma Health Sciences Center's Department of Pediatrics. She conducts treatment and training in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy. Dr. Funderburk's research interests include issues of training and dissemination in PCIT and cultural applications of PCIT. Dr. Funderburk is a member of the Board of Directors of PCIT International and is active in developing treatment and training materials and methods to promote the adoption and application of PCIT in a variety of settings. She is a certified PCIT Master Trainer through PCIT International.

Melanie Nelson, Ph.D

Melanie Nelson is a licensed psychologist and an Assistant Professor in the Department of Pediatrics. She has considerable experience in conducting treatment outcome research and training therapists to conduct Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), an empirically supported behavioral therapy for young children with DBPs. She served for three years as the post-doctoral project coordinator for Project GIFT, a National Institute for Mental Health-funded study examining the maintenance of PCIT treatment effects at the University of Florida prior to accepting a faculty position at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center in 2005. She is an author of the Dyadic Parent-Child Interaction Coding System manual, a primary observation measure integral to PCIT implementation. Dr. Nelson has served on the national PCIT Advisory Board since 2005 and has been the co-chair for two national PCIT conferences. In 2009, she was certified as a Master Trainer in PCIT by PCIT International. As the current Chairperson of the PCIT International Advisory Board, she coordinates activities of all Advisory Board Task Forces and acts as a liaison with the Board of Directors. Her research interests lie in the field of evidence-based practice implementation and dissemination efforts, as well as measurement of the parent-child interaction.

Briana Anderson

Briana Anderson graduated from the University of Oklahoma in 2010. She is currently the Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) Training Coordinator at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center’s (OUHSC), Department of Pediatrics. Ms. Anderson works to field inquiries, answer questions, plan and organize all PCIT related activities. She began at OUHSC as a Research Assistant, and has since served as a Project Coordinator for affiliated PCIT grants at OUHSC.

Amanda Pollock, M.ED., LPC

Amanda Pollock is the Research Project Coordinator of the A Better Chance (ABC) Program at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She received her Master's Degree in Community Counseling from the University of Oklahoma and has been working in the ABC program for five years. The ABC program is the only program in the state of Oklahoma which specialized in the assessment and treatment of children with prenatal alcohol and drug exposure. She was trained in Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) by Dr. Funderburk and Dr. Gurwitch in 2004 and is directly involved in Oklahoma's national training program for PCIT as a consultant for newly-trained therapists on both a state and national level.

Polina Varner, MSW, LCSW

Polina Varner is a pediatric counselor at the Behavior Clinic at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She received her Master's Degree in Social Work from the University of Oklahoma and has been working in the Behavior Clinic program since January 2011. She is a bilingual counselor who provides a wide array of behavioral health services to children and their families. She was trained in Parent-Child Interaction therapy (PCIT) by Dr. Funderburk, Dr. Nelson and Dr. Gurwitch in 2008. She was trained in Trauma-Focused Cognitive Behavioral therapy by Dr. Schmidt.

Stephanie H. Kramer, M.Ed

Stephanie H. Kramer is a licensed professional counselor at the OU Child Study Center in the section of Developmental and Behavioral Pediatrics in the Department of Pediatrics. She graduated from the University of Central Oklahoma with a degree in Counseling Psychology in 1999, and has a broad knowledge of the theories, techniques and ethics involved in counseling. Stephanie received her license in 2002 and has extensive experience in delivering high quality therapeutic services to children, adolescents and families impacted by behavioral and emotional difficulties. She has been trained in multiple evidence-based theoretical models such as Parent-Child Interaction Therapy, Trauma Focused Cognitive Behavioral Therapy, Filial Therapy, Brief Strategic Family Therapy and Play Therapy. Stephanie joined the staff of the Child Study Center in the fall if 2008 and serves as a Clinical Therapist in the Behavior Clinic.

Vicki Cook, M.Ed

Vicki Cook is the Assistant Director of the A Better Chance Program (ABC) at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. She received her Master's Degree in Community Counseling from the University of Central Oklahoma and has been working in the ABC program for 16 years. The ABC program is the only program in the state of Oklahoma which specialized in the assessment and treatment of children with prenatal alcohol and drug exposure. She provides information related to prenatal substance exposure and fetal alcohol syndrome, educational guidance and case management services to families and children impacted by substance use. Further, she is directly involved in Oklahoma's national training program for Parent-Child Interaction therapy (PCIT). PCIT is an evidence-based treatment specifically for children with oppositional and defiant behaviors. She provides training and consultation services in the area of substance abuse as well as behavior challenges on state and national levels.

Chris Campbell, Ph.D.

Chris Campbell is a post-doctoral fellow at the University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center. He received his doctorate in clinical psychology from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln. His primary clinical and research interests include the assessment and treatment of youth who have experienced child maltreatment, youth with sexual behavior problems, and youth with problematic parent-child and/or teacher-child relationships. He is directly involved in Oklahoma's national training program for Parent-Child Interaction therapy (PCIT), and co-developer of the Teacher-Child Interaction Training - Preschool Program (TCIT-PRE).